Oak Ridge Habitat family, volunteers enjoy the 'sweet part'

Tabitha Wilson and her four children were ready to move into their new home — especially since the young family has been living in a small, cramped two-bedroom home.

by Beverly Majors

Tabitha Wilson and her four children were ready to move into their new home — especially since the young family has been living in a small, cramped two-bedroom home.

Wilson and her eldest child, 17-year-old daughter Lorin, were visibly moved by the whole Habitat experience as their new home on Hillside Road was dedicated.

"Thank you so much," Wilson said during the event.

"It takes Godly people to do something like this."

"Everyone should have a decent place to live," said Jennifer Sheehan, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County.

Wilson qualified for the Habitat homeownership program — she needed housing, had the ability to pay a zero-interest mortgage and was willing to partner with Habitat for Humanity by putting in hours of "sweat equity"

Wilson and her oldest children, Lorin and 15-year-old Chance, put in their sweat-equity hours during the construction of the home while the younger two children, Metillda, 11, and Dmarcus, 9, worked some in Habitat's store.

"With her children growing older, she knew she needed to do something to provide them with more room to study and some sense of privacy," Sheehan explained.

The city of Oak Ridge donated the land to Habitat earlier this year. The original site was where a home burned.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities provided a $50,000 sponsorship and work crews for nine Saturdays during the build, which started in late June. More than 100 volunteers from ORAU helped — doing such things as hammering and nailing, caulking, painting, siding, and providing fellowship with the Wilson family.

SunTrust Bank, the secondary sponsor, provided $25,000 and also contributed several volunteer hours.

ORAU President Andy Page, during the dedication ceremony held on a rainy afternoon, said, "The sun is absolutely out in here."

The construction crew chief, Tim Marcum, commended Wilson for her "sweat," stating, "This is a bittersweet day. I've been hanging my hat here for three months, but to watch her build her home was really cool.

"The sweet part is to hand over this house."

The home on Hillside Road, like other Habitat homes, is certified as an Energy Star 3.0 home. To earn the Energy Star certification, a home must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15 percent more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy saving features that typically make them 20 to 30 percent more efficient than standard homes.

"Habitat has made my family happier than Santa Claus delivering his last package on Christmas Eve," Wilson said. "My 17-year-old has already told us she will not be leaving her new room anytime soon once we move in."

Along with the new house, the Wilsons received special gifts from the sponsors, including gifts for the children's rooms and a family Bible. The gifts also included a special handmade stool — a gift from longtime Habitat volunteer Cal Knoke — for Tabitha to stand on "when and if you feel low. (Then) you climb up to be higher."

ORAU's Pam Bonee went one step further — she gave Wilson the key to her new home.